the future of europe lies in knowledge

Janez Potočnik, member of the European Commission for Science and Research said The Future of Europe Lies in Knowledge at the National Forum on Europe, in Dublin:“We want to improve our quality of life and remain globally competitive. If we think about how best to achieve that, we can consider cutting costs or improving our productivity. Looking at the costs, then there are limited possibilities. I’ve not met many people who really want to drive down wages or drastically cut back on our social security standards. And even after we’ve made improvements in the flexibility and mobility of our labour markets, and we’ve engaged in reforms to cope with the ageing of our population, we will not have done enough to keep up with our international competitors. So we don’t have much of a choice; we must increase our productivity. That means we have to create and apply new knowledge. And if we want to do that, there are three things that we have to improve: education, research and innovation.” Link